Balsam bashing at Dunham Massey on Sunday 9th July 2023

Eight of us met Lead Ranger Steve at 10:00 on a beautiful sunny morning for the second balsam bashing session of the year at Dunham.

The work location this time, though near the car park picnic area, used to be a lake. It was drained when water was diverted to power the mill when it was still producing flour. This happened as long ago as the 17th century but the area is still very damp and is classed as a site of ‘biological significance’ for its orchid population. As we’re well into the balsam season the growth was the tallest we’ve seen this year.

We worked mainly on our own as Steve was also acting as Duty Manager but he came by regularly and talked about the plans being developed to make the estate more biodiverse. These include working with tenant farmers to introduce more ecologically friendly practices and reinstate 30 kms of hedging.

We managed to clear the area - safely away from the orchids! - and the whole group gathered to surround the last stand of balsam.

It was a very satisfying and interesting day and we’re looking forward to taking part in the hedge laying project.

Jean